In honor of the eighth annual Ronald Reagan Symposium, the Robertson School of Government is announcing a student essay contest on the following question:

What role should religion play in presidential rhetoric?

Winners at the high school, undergraduate and graduate level will be announced at the Reagan symposium, which will be held at Regent University in Virginia Beach, Va., on February 8, 2013. The symposium theme is "God and Man in the White House: Religion in Presidential Rhetoric."

Contest Details: The essay contest is sponsored by the Robertson School of Government at Regent University. Essays of up to 2,500 words in length will be accepted from students in the United States in three categories: high school, undergraduate and graduate student. The contest deadline is December 31, 2012. Winners will be notified by mid-January and are welcome to attend the symposium, where the winners will be publicly announced. Please note that the university will be unable to financially assist students to attend the symposium. Before receiving the monetary award, students must prove that they are current students at the appropriate level (e.g., high school) by providing an unofficial or official transcript from their institution. The Robertson School of Government reserves the right not to present awards to low-quality essays.

Submission Details: Essays should be submitted by email as an attachment to rsgdeansoffice@regent.edu by midnight, December 31, 2012. A cover page should include the following information:

Student's Name, School, Major/Degree, Class

Student's Contact Information (Email, Phone Number, Current Address)

Title of Work

An abstract of up to 250 words detailing the topic of the essay

The subject of the email should be: "Essay Contest Submission"

Awards: At the high school level: 1st place ($500), 2nd place ($350), 3rd place ($150)
At the undergraduate level: 1st place ($1,000), 2nd place ($750), 3rd place ($500)
At the graduate level (M.A., Ph.D.): 1st place ($1,500), 2nd place ($1,000), 3rd place ($750)

Creative Commons Licensing Agreement
All submissions agree to the following: "As a potential essay contest winner for the 2013 Ronald Reagan Symposium, upon submission of my work, I hereby grant the Robertson School of Government the right and unrestricted permission to use this essay for the following purposes: publication on the university website; promotional material for future conferences; and as an example of a completed project for future essay contests. In addition, I acknowledge that if the university chooses to publish my essay, I am free to submit my work elsewhere for publication."